Phoenix tops Tucson as preferred F-35 site

Tucson has been bypassed — at least for now — as a home base for
a new Air Force fighter jet.

The Air National Guard’s 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson
International Airport will not receive the futuristic F-35 Joint
Strike Fighter, which instead may go to Luke Air Force Base in
Glendale.

Luke emerged as the Air Force’s “preferred alternative” in
Arizona after initial investigations showed it has a far better
ability than the Tucson site to accommodate a large number of jets
without the need for major renovations or expense, said Gary
Strasburg, an Air Force spokesman at the Pentagon.

Strasburg said service officials looked at many factors,
including public support for or opposition to the new high-noise
jet. When it came down to it, though, the biggest considerations
were practical ones.

“Luke has the ability to accept three or more squadrons of the
aircraft. The capacity is already there,” said Strasburg. A
squadron typically is 24 aircraft, he said.

The Tucson site “was not as good as Luke” in that regard, he
said, although Tucson may be considered again in two or three
years’ time — for example, if the Air Force decides it needs a
smaller F-35 site somewhere in the state.

Arizona Sen. John McCain put out a statement Thursday praising
the pick of Luke. McCain maintained that the Air Force bypassed
Tucson because the Tucson air guard unit is busy for now training
foreign F-16 pilots.

In November, McCain told an F-35 press conference in Tucson that
the 162nd Fighter Wing guard site was not in competition with Luke,
an active-duty base, as home for the F- 35. Rather, McCain said,
Tucson was up against another Air National Guard site in Boise,
Idaho.

The Republican senator said he Air Force was going to need both
active duty and guard bases for F- 35 training, and he predicted
both Arizona sites would be selected for their year-round flying
weather and proximity to the Barry M. Goldwater training range west
of Tucson.

Strasburg, the Air Force spokesman, said Thursday that the
service hasn’t yet decided whether it wants to use Air National
Guard bases as training sites for the F-35. “That will be part of
future considerations,” he said.

Like many new military aircraft, the F-35 has been plagued by
cost overruns and delays. Even so, Strasburg said the Air Force is
proceeding on the assumption that the jets will start coming online
into the Air Force inventory in 2013.

Now that Luke has been picked as one of the Air Force’s top
choices, more environmental studies will follow before a final
decision on the location next year.